to think school can cock off with their "patented shade of grey" £17 a pop trousers?

[QoFE]

Normal state secondary school, new head so obvs we need a costly uniform change (less than 5 years after the last uniform change) to reflect the new regime

Despite significant parental opposition (I know because I went to the so called "consultation") we now have to stump up for logoed blazers and ties. Expensive but hey ho, suck it up, whatever.

Except an email has just gone out reminding parents that the trousers and skirts HAVE to be one specific and expensive brand and cannot be cheapy or second hand because wait for it....

they are a patented shade of grey looks like tesco grey to me but what do I know

WTF? Is this even legal? The trousers start at £17 a pair FFS and ones to fit a 6th former are nearly £30

Having said which i don't think she tolerates piss takers so if you appear in Uggs or leggings at the start of term I think you'd need a very convincing note. The uniform is cheap and straightforward and hasn't changed in years so that helps too.

That particular solution wouldn't have worked for the particular community we were working with - almost 100% adult illiteracy - but I'm sure a verbal solution would be found. I just wondered because in a primary, one knows the families so much better, whereas it can be more impersonal in a secondary. Do you ever have any 'but Simon is allowed to...?' from the other students?

Do you ever have any 'but Simon is allowed to...?' from the other students?

At secondary they don't tend to give a name. They prefer to say "loads of kids are wearing them" when they actually mean a couple they might have noticed.

I agree with a school uniform but it's so difficult to enforce. I used to work at a 'nice' school (few behaviour issues, high achieving state, students from lots of different backgrounds) but there was always an issue with skirts. They were made out of a stretchy material and the girls would roll them up to an unacceptable length. In the end the school changed the type of skirt they allowed, they wanted a flared skirt but it could come from anywhere. There was uproar, in the first term the change was implemented there were 2 weeks grace. Then there was an assembly and any student with the old style skirt on was given a letter explaining they would be in isolation the following week if they did not conform.

It really damaged the relationships between the school and parents, and the relationships between staff and students, it was awful. The parents just didn't seem to realise that if they'd just conformed with supporting the school with the issue of skirt length in the first place then it wouldn't have happened.

Another school I worked in had fully logoed uniform and the issues were eliminated, but it was affordable. If the school really is concerned about the uniform then it should ensure the new one is affordable. I'd be more inclined to think they had another agenda if it was so expensive. But this is what is being allowed to happen.

DD's school specifies 2 skirt styles, Banner and trutex both around £15, only come in one length to get one that fits around her waist/hips it was pretty short at the start of year 7, going to be indecent by the time it's too small!!

I'd be fuming £30 on a pair of trousers for what 7-8 months max?

And of course they don't know (and it's not their business) that x from Year 8 has been given special permission to wear the wrong uniform because his parents just can't afford it. X is also not going to tell them. So they see it as unfair and of course sometimes other parents pick up on this "oh yeah, one rule for some and another for everyone else". Most of the time X will say "yeah I got away with it- just said my mum won't pay out for more" - to save face (understandably).

Do you ever have any 'but Simon is allowed to...?' from the other students?
I tend not to as a teacher because I'm such a broken record that they don't bother.

But friends who have teenage children get it when shopping 'all the other kids have....'. When I've called some parents about uniform before they've been annoyed because they've had doubts when shopping and their teenager has said 'yeah it's fine... everyone else wears...' Said teenager was made to buy new shoes out of their allowance in punishment for lying to their mum.

I think it's the cousin of 'But Miiiiissss, NONE of the other classes are doing an assessment. ALL the other classes are doing fun things'

cauliflower
We would provide uniform in that situation.

Only exemptions in schools uve been in recently are medical ones (usually footwear flexibility) or alterations for those children with additional needs who spend a lot of time in the special needs Base.

Goingtobe Next do charcoal grey in Extra Long which is 35"

My Ds has these in Black and they look nice and wear well.

www.next.co.uk/g21342s10#950997

That's a pain Random. Dd's school has the Banner Thornton and it comes in four different lengths.

I HATE all the 1 or 2 specific styles crap.

Partly due to cost but mostly because IME the choice of trousers suit only averagely built males and the skirts suit very slim teen girls or those who are average height.

My friend DD has an amazing figure - very athletic, totally flat toned stomach, curvy hips and very tall. The pencil skirt either was too tight on legs or bigger for legs and huge on the waist.
The other style only came in 1 length. The school put her in isolation for it being too short - yet agreed when my friend questioned them she was wearing it correctly and the correct size for her.

In the real world people are all shapes and sizes and during the teen years where self esteem can fluctuate with hormones and changing body shapes being forced to wear shapeless blazers, oxford style shirts and ties and one shape/design of trousers/skirt is actually damaging to some kids.

I love the idea suggested above about schools having colour combinations and flexibility on what colours pupils choose.

My daughter's going into year 7 and skirt is a particular checked variety only available from specified supplier at £32 a pop with NO adjustable waist. So as soon as she's grown a bit I have to buy another. Boys can have any type of trouser in the right colour - cheap variety from a supermarket if necessary.
It's a 'free' school so not sure if admissions code still applies?

If you are brave, op, could you just buy any grey variety and send her in. Get your MP involved?

Wax - but 'Extra Long' doesn't start until 32" waist, which is completely useless to parents of bamboo-shaped boys!

Finding 26" waist / 34" inside leg, or 28" / 36", is genuinely difficult - to have long legs, you are also supposed to be quite stocky.

DS, going into 6th form, has finally reached the point where 30" waist trousers no longer need braces to keep them up, which brings Topshop's 30" / 36" 'extra long' trousers into play - a huge relief all round, as BhS, who did extra extra long with button elastic waists up to age 16, are of course no longer in business.

cantkeep - i'm not the shop owner! I was helping out Goingtobe who didn't mention anything about how skinny her boy was. There's no point moaning to me! :)

BHS are back in business on-line btw.

My DSs need the long length but are 34 and 36 waist so no issue re sizes like we had when they were a lot younger. and not yet into Men's sizes.

Dd's regulation school skirt comes in waist sizes ranging from 22 - 38" and four lengths ranging from 18 - 24.

"cauliflower
We would provide uniform in that situation."

That's really good to hear. It is hard to steer a line between the [probably more commo] 'I managed to get my mum to buy this - haha' and the genuine 'Honestly, you're lucky I've got myself into school at all today; I've already got my siblings up and out to school, there wasn't anything for breakfast and these are the only set of clothes I have that even vaguely look like uniform'. I don't think many people appreciate just what hardship / chaos some kids live in - I know I didn't until I worked in that school.

BHS are back in business on-line btw.

You raised my hopes there! Sadly, no school uniform ... and tbh, DS is now too long-legged even for their longest size.

If my father & brothers are anything to go by, DS is unlikely to hit 34 or 36" waists until around his 40th birthday.... sadly, the family genes run to unusually tall, skinny men and rather wide women!

I'm really sorry if I sounded as if I was blaming you. It has been very, very hard to buy DS trousers for several years, and I have lost count of the 'Oh, try X's Extra Long' wild goose chases we have been on... I've just finished wrestling with this year's 'hunt the trousers', so am rather weary!

What niggles at me is our school say it's preparing them for the working world. But how?

Under usual circumstances any company with a very strict specific uniform PROVIDES it to the employee.

Other company's have a dress code where you are a liberty to choose what is most suitable for you within guidelines.

So strict pedantic uniform policies? What are they really for?

No worries cant. I've had issues in the past. Ds1 is tall (6'3") and slim but not skinny, DS2 is (6'1.5) but absolutely solid.

Honey,

Tbh, I suspect for the person in the street, who will say 'Oh, that's a great school with good discipline, their pupils always look really smart'...

Sad, but until we stop judging schools by how their pupils dress, probably inevitable.

True can't keep. Popular schools that have an intake of bright kids with affluent, motivated parents don't get judged in that way so can afford to have more relaxed or no uniform but others not so much.

cantkeepawayforever I feel your pain ds has a 24 inch waist and a 34in leg - River Island with a take down hem will work but dd who is also very slim no longer fits the compulsory skirt - their slim sizes stop at a particular length and now she will be forced to wear a very ill fitting over sized sloppy looking skirt that would never be considered smart in any setting, school uniform is a complete pain in the butt - we comply but we never respect the people who enforce it - but we do talk about why they can use it to create a false impression of quality of teaching and discipline. I want my kids to understand bullshit when they see it!

Thank you very much WaxOn.. Last time I tried they didn't have those options.

DS needs a 32" waist.